Documentary 'The Cross' Is a Simple, Vintage Look at the Rev. Billy Graham

Documentary 'The Cross' Is a Simple, Vintage Look at the Rev. Billy Graham

Article excerpt

The Rev. Billy Graham has been worried about the state of
America's soul for a long, long time. So it isn't surprising that -
when preaching what could be his final sermon - the 95-year-old
evangelist looked straight into the camera and talked about sin and
tears, repentance and salvation.

And the cross. "Our country's in great need of a spiritual
awakening. There have been times when I've wept as I've gone from
city to city and I've seen how far people have wandered from God,"
said Graham, in a message recorded in his North Carolina mountain
home. "I want to tell people about the meaning of the cross. Not
the cross that hangs on the wall or around someone's neck, but the
real cross of Christ. It's scarred and bloodstained. His was a
rugged cross. I know that many will react to this message, but it
is the truth. And with all my heart, I want to leave you with the
truth."

Simply called "The Cross," the 30-minute documentary premiered
on Fox News, and in churches nationwide. It includes footage of
Graham with leaders ranging from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.,
to Pope John Paul II, from Johnny Carson to Johnny Cash. Graham has
met with every U.S. president since Harry Truman and the video
includes John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

The video was shown at a recent 95th birthday party for Graham in
Asheville, N. C., that drew many prominent, and in some cases
decidedly nonevangelical, conservatives - including

Donald Trump, Greta Van Susteren and Rupert Murdoch. In his
introduction, the Rev. Franklin Graham told viewers his father's
message could "change your life and change the direction of this
nation."

It would be hard, however, for critics to find any national
politics in this message from the elderly Graham, said sociologist
William Martin, author of "A Prophet With Honor: The Billy Graham
Story."

In particular, there are no echoes of the 2012 advertisements in
which the elder Graham was quoted as saying: "As I approach my 94th
birthday, I realize this election could be my last... I urge you to
vote for those who protect the sanctity of life and support the
biblical definition of marriage between a man and a woman. …